"I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe," the older waiter said. "Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe."

"Hombre, there are bodegas open all night long."

"You do not understand. This is a clean and pleasant cafe. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves."

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Office Market is Heating Up

The office market is getting hot, hot, hot!

Since I work in many areas of commercial real estate, including office, industrial, retail and restaurant properties, I see firsthand the market waves in sales and leasing activity. Some weeks, all calls are for warehouse spaces; others retail. By far, the least amount of responses to our marketing since the beginning of the year has been for our office listings.

Until this past week. My phone has been ringing (as usual!) and most those inquiries have been about office space. On Wednesday I received two calls about Colonels Ridge from two different business owners who had toured the office park about six months ago. Each had put the acquiring-new-office decision on hold and are now ready to reevaluate making those moves. These two business owners were looking to lease space. I also showed office property to two other prospects looking to purchase. That's four office tours in two days!

Metro-Washington DC is largely driven by the government; since their fiscal year ends September 30, I have been told that money is becoming available to companies who derive their business from that sector.

John Stewart, an economist and Managing Director of Vantage Economics, a consulting firm, believes economically we have entered into a period of stabilization. Although unemployment will continue to be high for a while, the recession may be over. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that based on its latest quarterly survey of housing data, home sales were up compared to last year in Washington DC and Northern Virginia. Another report I read indicated a 3.7% price increase from April to May in the Washington DC metropolitan area, suggesting a recovery in the housing market here.

Client Sales & Leases--click on pictures for details

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About Me

I am a commercial real estate agent in Northern Virginia, outside Washington DC. I work with investors and business owners to buy, sell, lease and invest in commercial real estate (which includes office, retail, restaurant, and flex/warehouse spaces). I also work with select clients in the residential market.

In addition to my full-time real estate career, I am a freelance writer. For over a year, I wrote a monthly real estate column for The Chronicle Newspapers in Northern Virginia. I currently write personal essays and short stories which have been published in magazines, e-zines and anthologies.